Mum said they might not be back until after eleven. My brother Greg and I 1 to play hide -and- seek (捉迷藏). But there was not much 2 except in the front room. The3 was that we were not allowed in there by ourselves.4, we just took the risk.

    Once there, both of us were cautious and moved about 5 for some while. Then, when I hid behind a tapestry(壁毯), 6 by my brother, I jumped out. With a sense of 7, I felt my right elbow (手肘) striking (撞击) something hard. We heard a crash. Even 8 we dared to look, we knew that the vase lay broken.

    When Mum and Dad came home and viewed the pieces, we knew any 9 would only serve to fuel their anger. Mum ordered us to sit on the bare floor, beside the ruin. She cried, “How 10 the two of you have done this?” Greg and I, too 11 to cry, could voice no answer. After a while, she 12 us and stayed there alone by herself, much like a statue.

    Greg and I 13 throughout that night, struggling to decide what we might do to 14for it. We hoped with the money we had saved we might just have 15 to buy a vase. The next day, we set off to search 16 every local shop until we found a good copy.

    When we 17 home in silence, we 18 Mum and Dad with what we'd bought. Dad 19 out, took it from Greg and then passed it to Mum. She sighed, “You broke our Ming vase.” But we believed they knew we were 20.

Before I came to college, I was sure I knew all about it, since I had met some college students and had seen more than my share of old "college" movies where the 1 belonged to "playboys" and the heroines to sophisticates(圆滑世故的人）. But, now, after one semester as a college student, many of my old ideas have2 completely.

    I used to imagine bossy upper-classmen, for example. I thought they would be know-it-all rulers of the campus who 3 freshmen for fun. I pictured being 4 to the wrong classrooms, being ignored. But, in fact, the upper-classmen turned out to be quite 5. They offered to help me and inspired me to6 my tough courses.

    The upper-classmen weren't the only ones I worried about. I was also 7 about the other freshmen. I was afraid they might think I was too fat, too shy, too 8, or even too dumb to bother with. 9, I was wrong. When I finally got to college, I discovered that most students felt exactly as I did. They were as uneasy with me as I was with them, and as we started to open up, we began to10 one another. We began to become curious about each other's backgrounds and interests; the differences among us actually became11.

    I changed my mind about other things too. I had 12 homework to be a book-filled nightmare, which would keep me from meeting 13 dates. I did have some 14 tests; I did break out in a clammy sweat, and 15 a stomach upset and a gigantic headache, but contrary to expectations, I passed all of my exams with good grades.

    I've always been 16. Then if the worst happens, I'm just ready for it. I have planned to live 17 this principle before. But after this, I know not all schools would be the same. This one 18 to be much better than I thought it would be — a good 19 in not jumping to conclusions. No doubt my 20 toward college will shift still more as I go on, but I know I'll never be as negative as I was before I got to college.

    The life of George Washington was well-known for punctuality. For him, being on time was a way of showing  1 for others, and he  2 to be treated with the same level of respect  3.

    Once Washington asked a man to bring some  4 he was interested in buying at five in the morning.  5, the man arrived fifteen minutes late. Washington's groom（马夫）told the man that the general had been  6 there at five, but had now moved on to other business. Washington said that he wouldn't be able to  7 the horses again until the following week. The man left with his horses, feeling a deep sense of  8.

    When he told Congress（国会议员）that he'd meet with them at noon, he could almost always be found walking into the meeting room just as the clock was  9 twelve.

    Washington's punctuality extended to his 10 as well. He ate dinner each day at 11 four o'clock. When he 12 members of Congress to dine with him, and they 13 late, they were often  14 to find the president halfway done with his meal or even leaving the table. To his shocked, late  15 he would say, "We are punctual here. My cook never asks whether the guests have arrived, but whether the hour has  16."

    And when Washington's secretary arrived late for a meeting, and blamed his  17 for his lateness, Washington quietly replied, "Then you must get another watch, or I another  18."

    Washington, one of the most respected presidents in American history, is a good example to us all. Today, punctuality is still a(n) 19 part of the character of a nice person. So next time when you are struggling with arriving  20, think of these stories about the punctual president.

    Growing up in the 1960s, I was taught from an early age to send a handwritten thank-you note expressing 1 for kindness. My mother used to buy me a box of paper and 2 me in the art and value of saying “thank you”. She 3 to be right.

    A study showed that it took most volunteers less than 5 minutes to write the thank-you notes. Just 5 minutes to make 4 person feel “overjoyed”! 5, in our “instant” world, the idea of getting an actual pen and writing an actual note seems to never come to mind. We tend to do what is 6 for us — a quick text or an email.

    It's easy to use the 7 of being busy, but even very busy and 8 businessmen find time to 9 thank-you notes. For example, when Doug Conant became CEO of Campbell's Soup, the company had 10 half of its market value and morale(士气) was at an all-time low. He 11fixing that by doing some simple things that are probably not 12 in any MBA class. For one thing, Conant wrote to every 13. He gained their confidence and 14, turned the company 15.

    In his ten years as CEO, Conant wrote over 30,000 notes to employees. It's 16 not to ask how he did it. 17, he had many other things to do 18 writing a thank-you note. Conant made time for 19 because he knew the impact(影响) each one would have. An expression of 20 in this crazy world still makes a difference.

    Jean is a clever young woman who comes from a rich and famous family. She goes to a(n) 1 university and has everything that money can buy. Well, 2 everything. The only problem is that the people in Jean's family are so 3 that they can hardly find time to be with her.

    So Jean 4 a lot of her time on MSN. She likes being anonymous (匿名的), 5 to people who do not know about her famous family and her 6 life. She used the name Linda on MSN and has 7 a lot of friends who she contacts quite 8.

    Last year Jean made a very 9 friend on MSN. His name was David and he lived in San Francisco. David was full of stories and jokes. He and Jean had a common 10 in rock music and modem dance. 11 it always took them hours to talk 12 on MSN and sometimes they even 13 the time. Of course, they wanted to know more about each other. David 14 a picture of himself: a tall, good-looking young 15 with a big, happy smile. As 16 went by, they became good friends and often sent cards and small things to each other.

    When Jean's father told her that he was going 17 a business trip to San Francisco, she asked her father to let her 18 with him, so that she could give David a 19 for his birthday. She would take him the latest DVD of their favorite 20 singer. But when Jean knocked on David's door in San Francisco, she found that the special friend she had been contacting was a twelve-year-old boy named Jim.

    We have five fantastic children. As they've grown older, from high school to college and so on, we found ourselves cleaning out our home of furniture only to replace it with something new. We had this living room set (一组) 1 a sofa, love seat and chair go 2 a couple of the kids, dragging it up the stairs to their third floor apartments and back down again to the next apartment. Our son was the last to have the set when 3 he asked for a place to 4 it because he was going out of town for a semester. We told him we would 5 it for him in our garage. So we picked the furniture up and 6 it back to the house.

    One day, while at 7, I heard a couple of people talking in the hallway. A mother and her two children were 8 out of their own house by her husband, with 9 but the clothes on their backs. Some warmhearted people found them a place to stay, but no belongings, clothes, food, or furniture.

    Our colleagues and I 10 all we could to help her. I went to the store and bought some clothes for the children and some 11 essentials. I came home that day after work and looked at the furniture in the garage sitting there, 12. I called my son and told him what I wanted to do. He agreed.

    The next 13 was to the mother of two. She came to my house within an hour to pick up the furniture and the bag of clothes. She said she would 14 the furniture as soon as she would be able to.

    I looked at her and said, "15 you are done with the furniture, give it to someone else in16."

    She cried, 17 by the generosity and thanked everyone greatly for all that 18 did to help. It makes me so happy to know that the 19 that grew with our family was being 20 to good use.